S: Luke 1:30-32 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
O: Recently, we have been reading in Ezekiel in the Life Journal reading plan and we saw how the apocalyptic vision of Ezekiel saw the restoration of David's throne over Israel forever and then there is a vision of a new temple, which has never literally been built, and in fact, cannot ever be literal because in the New Testament, we no longer need animal sacrifices, since Christ has died once for all. Some Christians think that this temple will be literal, and built during the Millennium, but I personally don't think that is possible because that would mean disregarding Christ's sacrifice on the cross and going back to the Old Testament system. Apocalyptic writing -- whether Ezekiel or Revelations -- isn't intended to be interpreted literally -- it is so obviously full of metaphor and imagery.
The ultimate fulfilment of Ezekiel's temple is the Church -- we are the Israel of God. And the King in the Davidic line who will rule forever over this new Israel is Jesus Christ.
Gabriel hence announced this to Mary when he told her that she would bear Jesus, the Son of the Most High.
| A: | Oh, come, let us adore Him! Oh, come, let us adore Him! Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! |
P: Thank You, Jesus for coming as a humble baby, then dying for us to save us! Amen!
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